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A few days ago I ordered the new non-touch XPS 13 with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD. My plan was to immediately format the hard drive and install Ubuntu on it. However, it appears that they're working on putting out the Developer Edition that comes packaged with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and one of the devs on that project said if I bought the Windows machine and tried to manually install ubuntu on it, I'd have a bad time. Has anyone installed ubuntu on their 2015 XPS 13? My laptop hasn't yet been delivered, and Amazon has a 30-day return policy. If I return, I can get the dev edition when it comes out and address my screw-up of getting only 4GB of RAM. The downside is that AFAICT there's no release date yet on the new dev edition. Would it be worthwhile to return the laptop and wait for the dev edition to come out?
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Mar 2, 2015 16:24
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From the way he put it, I suspect you'all be able to install Ubuntu fine on your current one when the Dev edition comes out. Sounds like they're still fixing up the drivers.
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Mar 2, 2015 17:00
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Okay so the buttons are back on the T-series...but does the whole trackpad still move up and down 1/4" or is it like an Apple trackpad now?
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Mar 2, 2015 17:50
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giogadi posted:A few days ago I ordered the new non-touch XPS 13 with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD. My plan was to immediately format the hard drive and install Ubuntu on it. However, it appears that they're working on putting out the Developer Edition that comes packaged with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and one of the devs on that project said if I bought the Windows machine and tried to manually install ubuntu on it, I'd have a bad time. Has anyone installed ubuntu on their 2015 XPS 13? It looks like a lot of the issues are tracked here: https://major.io/2015/02/03/linux-support-dell-xps-13-9343-2015-model/ But as MikeJF says, as soon as Dell has the issues resolved adequately to be able to release the developer version, that will also propagate throughout the open source community and enable you to resolve them on your machine. Admittedly it may be a little bit of a headache at first, though. I dunno -- if the thing has soldered-in RAM, it may be worthwhile returning it just for that, if nothing else. I can imagine 4GB being a limitation on a dev machine.
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Mar 2, 2015 18:05
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Bob Morales posted:Okay so the buttons are back on the T-series...but does the whole trackpad still move up and down 1/4" or is it like an Apple trackpad now? No the top of the pad is fixed, the bottom moves, but its like one millimeter. I haven't used it because the trackpoint is so convenient.
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Mar 2, 2015 18:53
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My mother in law does taxes, so she needs a numpad which the XPS13 doesn't have. I know they have USB ones though. Any idea what the proper name for something like that is? Searching for numpad at Bestbuy or Staples or whatever comes up with nothing. Safari keeps insisting on changing it to nomad or numbed.
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Mar 2, 2015 23:22
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Aphrodite posted:My mother in law does taxes, so she needs a numpad which the XPS13 doesn't have. I know they have USB ones though. http://www.amazon.com/HDE-USB-Mini-Number-Keyboard/dp/B001M55B1U
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Mar 2, 2015 23:25
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Aphrodite posted:My mother in law does taxes, so she needs a numpad which the XPS13 doesn't have. I know they have USB ones though.
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Mar 2, 2015 23:26
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Amazon.ca means like 4 times the price but that finds them. Thanks.
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Mar 2, 2015 23:48
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I'm in the market for a budget gaming laptop (good luck right?) to replace an aging Lenovo Z570 that I've had for 4 years and has been a beast of a little computer. I originally bought a new Z50-70 with an Nvidia 820m but the drat thing isn't any better than the Z570 in playing games. I seriously get a whole 2 fps less with the same games with the same settings with a 540m as I do with an 820m, it's ridiculous. I'm returning the Z50-70 and am looking for something with at least an 850m (I hear 860m is much better?) but below the 1k mark. I've heard good things about http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232205 (or the 15in version which is somehow more expensive) and am also looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834317541 though I hear the screen is god awful. Is there another option I should look for? I would prefer lower price obviously, but it's gotta be able to play XCOM at at least medium graphics at a decent frame rate for me to consider it.
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Mar 3, 2015 03:26
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I think the Thinkpad and Macbook product lines are the only two with platinum-tier Linux support out of the box. I'm not sure if it's still true but in 2010-2012 Red Hat used the T4x0 series as their standard edition developer laptop.
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Mar 3, 2015 03:54
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Looks like the Thinkpads are still pretty good: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/make/Lenovo/ The general list of stuff that is certified to work with Ubuntu and by extension should be possible to get working fairly easily with the Linux of your choice is here: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/ It looks like there tend to be a few minor issues with most of them (e.g. hibernate not working, wifi LED indicators not displaying, etc), so it's worth checking the certification notes. E: Here's the Red Hat one: https://access.redhat.com/ecosystem/search/#/category/Laptop I personally wouldn't choose to run RHEL, but it's probably a more stringent indication of compatibility (since all the software in RHEL is so far out of date.) Lead out in cuffs fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 04:27
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JacksLibido posted:
If you're looking for something not so gimmicky looking, there's also the Asus X550JK. It has a slightly less powerful GTX850, but it also sells for $799 on Newegg right now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232132 Also, to note on the GL series Asus products you're looking at, it looks like the keyboard is drat near illegible unless the backlight is turned on (I'm assuming it must always be on?)  edit: According to this page, the GTX860m is a faster clocked GTX850m, and has about a 12% performance advantage. If you want to get into the heavy duty gaming, you'll need to step up to a GM204 chip like the GTX965/970/980. But by then you're looking at machines over $1200. Mental Hospitality fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 04:41
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Hey guys, total loving noob idiot moron here, I have a couple of questions and I was hoping to get some advice from you guys. I have had a MacBook Pro since 2010. To be honest, it has never run like a dream. I've had quite a number of issues with it. It has had the logicboard replaced twice under AppleCare thank god. I needed a new cord because the first one fried the logicboard. The last time it was in the shop I can't even remember why, but it took forever to be fixed and that annoyed me a lot. I live in a regional area of Australia and they had to send it away by carrier pigeon or some poo poo I don't know. Anyway point of the story, I don't want to buy another one. OSX was pretty poo poo and I don't feel that I loved it any more than I've loved other laptops I've had. The only thing I like about it way more than those others, is the appearance. I love how they look. I'm kinda materialistic and I like things that look nice, sue me. In a month I'll be living in the USA and I want to invest in a new netbook/ultrabook I don't really know (see this is why I'm here) after I arrive. I'll stumble through on the MacBook Pro til then. I am pretty sure it is now showing me the spinning wheel thing after about every 5th typed word. Like, when I can't wait to get to work so I can use the internet properly, with ie11, you know there's a loving problem. I read the OP about the Thinkpads and if you guys think that is the best option for me I'll seriously look into it (my husband has one and he seems to like it) but they're just so ugly! I know that's so vain and shallow but it's how I feeeeel u guysssssssss. And I hate myself for it. I feel like there was an Asus one that had a similar brushed steel casing but I'm not sure what it's like on performance, and I honestly can't find the model now to link it here so that's loving useless anyway. When it comes down to it, I'm going to buy something that works over something that looks pretty, I'm just hoping there's a middle ground! I have about $1000 to spend but the $700-$900 mark would be great. I want to use it mostly for watching movies/youtubes/teevees, using the internet, potentially some photography stuff as I'm getting more into blogging/vlogging, but no gaming or anything like that. I'd absolutely love your thoughts. Thanks team.
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Mar 3, 2015 04:59
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That cheaper Asus probably has the slower DDR3 version of the 850m. Gaming is still doable, its just slower than the version with faster memory. As for the gaming models that photo makes the keyboard look worse than it actually is.
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Mar 3, 2015 04:59
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Sharks Below posted:Hey guys, total loving noob idiot moron here, I have a couple of questions and I was hoping to get some advice from you guys. What size do you want and do you care about battery life? Asus does various models with aluminium (or at least partially aluminium) shells but build quality and screens are a bit less than impressive (I'm typing this on an N550JK which is the 15" model). Aluminium is a pretty cruddy material for a laptop anyway, it dents/marks easily and isn't particulalrly sturdy. To be honest if you aren't gaming then I'd be considering the new XPS 13 (which I think looks great, but then the Thinkpads do to me too)
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Mar 3, 2015 05:20
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Sharks Below posted:Hey guys, total loving noob idiot moron here, I have a couple of questions and I was hoping to get some advice from you guys. New XPS13 sounds pretty perfect for this!
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Mar 3, 2015 05:22
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dissss posted:What size do you want and do you care about battery life? Gwaihir posted:New XPS13 sounds pretty perfect for this! Yes, this sounds perfect and amazing! Size isn't too important, 13-15 I'd say? I think the one I have now is 15 and it seems fine but going smaller wouldn't kill me. I have hated the lovely battery life on the MacBook Pro so any improvement on that is a win. The XPS is a teeny bit more than I wanted to spend but I think I can manage it. International moves are priceyyyy.
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Mar 3, 2015 06:16
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JacksLibido posted:I'm in the market for a budget gaming laptop (good luck right?) to replace an aging Lenovo Z570 that I've had for 4 years and has been a beast of a little computer. I originally bought a new Z50-70 with an Nvidia 820m but the drat thing isn't any better than the Z570 in playing games. I seriously get a whole 2 fps less with the same games with the same settings with a 540m as I do with an 820m, it's ridiculous. The Y50s are on sale pretty cheap on lenovos site right now, check em out.
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Mar 3, 2015 06:32
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Sharks Below posted:Yes, this sounds perfect and amazing! Size isn't too important, 13-15 I'd say? I think the one I have now is 15 and it seems fine but going smaller wouldn't kill me. I have hated the lovely battery life on the MacBook Pro so any improvement on that is a win. Why don't you throw an SSD in your MacBook for $150?
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Mar 3, 2015 06:55
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SouthLAnd posted:If you're looking for something not so gimmicky looking, there's also the Asus X550JK. It has a slightly less powerful GTX850, but it also sells for $799 on Newegg right now. I'm not looking for heavy duty gaming really, just something that can play XCOM:EW/Atilla TW/Skyrim at medium settings at ~30fps. This is a deployment laptop, my last deployment probably so I don't really want to spend any money at all, but my poor 4 y/o Z570 just isn't cutting it anymore. It can play XCOM at absolute min settings at ~20 fps, and skyrim at low/med at ~28. I was looking at the 850 and it looks like it might be a contender as well, thank you for that link it's a full $100 cheaper than the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152668 that I was looking at!
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Mar 3, 2015 07:00
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dissss posted:That cheaper Asus probably has the slower DDR3 version of the 850m. Gaming is still doable, its just slower than the version with faster memory. How can I tell which it is? I wasn't aware that there were two different versions... Senordingdong posted:The Y50s are on sale pretty cheap on lenovos site right now, check em out. I actually quite like Lenovo and would prefer to stay with them if at all possible, the problem is the reviews I've been seeing on their screens. My Z570 has a pretty awful screen and I've been ok with it for so long because there simply wasn't anything even remotely close to that value when I bought it, but now that I'm looking again I'm wary of investing $1k into something that has a known issue like that. The Y50 I'd get is still $900 (I have a 500gb SSD I'd throw into it so I'm not looking for the fancy HDD), which is the same cost as the other laptops.
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Mar 3, 2015 07:03
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tesilential posted:Why don't you throw an SSD in your MacBook for $150? This has definitely been suggested to me! Do you think it will solve a lot of the problems? I have tried everything (except MacKeeper), running Onyx, cleaning as much garbage off it as possible, it got reformatted when I took it in to the shop last, all that jazz. I guess I'm wondering whether I bother investing more money into a machine I don't really like. But if this would be some kind of miracle cure I would strongly consider it! It is, after all, a nearly-5 year old machine.
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Mar 3, 2015 07:13
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Sharks Below posted:This has definitely been suggested to me! Do you think it will solve a lot of the problems? I have tried everything (except MacKeeper), running Onyx, cleaning as much garbage off it as possible, it got reformatted when I took it in to the shop last, all that jazz. I guess I'm wondering whether I bother investing more money into a machine I don't really like. But if this would be some kind of miracle cure I would strongly consider it! It is, after all, a nearly-5 year old machine. Yes. SSD is literally why new computers are awesomely fast. How much RAM do you have? I have a 2013 rmbp w/ only 4 gb ram and it's still stupid fast. poo poo just opens. Load times aren't real. also you'll miss out on haswell or later's battery life.
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Mar 3, 2015 07:24
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JacksLibido posted:
Versions of the Y50 with an IPS display are listed on Lenovos website Now. A lot of people have been complaining about the display hinges on the Lenovo support forum. I don't know if this is a genuine design flaw or just a bunch of people being careless with their computers. It is also being discussed on the Notebook Review forum as well so...
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Mar 3, 2015 07:31
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tesilential posted:Yes. SSD is literally why new computers are awesomely fast. How much RAM do you have? I have a 2013 rmbp w/ only 4 gb ram and it's still stupid fast. poo poo just opens. Load times aren't real. This is well worth looking into. It's the constant freezing that annoys me the most, though in saying that, it does take a long time to load anything (a new blank tab, a video into VLC, a new document). I'll have a think. With a 2010 mbp I'm not sure if I'll bother. But it's definitely something to think about and may be a good stopgap before my tax return comes through in July. Can anyone do this or is it a generally Apple Store thing? Not sure how it works in the States, I'll be moving to near Boston if that helps. Well, nearish.
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Mar 3, 2015 07:33
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SouthLAnd posted:Versions of the Y50 with an IPS display are listed on Lenovos website Now. That IPS panel for $999 looks pretty decent, the 16gb ram is definitely noteworthy, but I've also seen that hinge thing on a couple of different sites as well. Considering I'll be overseas when using this I definitely need something that isn't fragile. Not toughbook tough, but not something that will break when I move it from my bed to the ground or something. I'll do some more research now that I see the IPS screens though, thanks for the heads up! The other question is how would I install win7 on the lenovo since it doesn't have a dvd drive? Would I be able to just plug in an external dvd drive and boot off of that? What about this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314808&cm_re=acer_aspire-_-34-314-808-_-Product That looks to beat even the Lenovo, looks like an IPS display just less ram for 100 less, and no worries about the screen cracking. Anything I should know about this one? JacksLibido fucked around with this message at 09:52 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 07:49
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Hadlock posted:I think the Thinkpad and Macbook product lines are the only two with platinum-tier Linux support out of the box. I'm not sure if it's still true but in 2010-2012 Red Hat used the T4x0 series as their standard edition developer laptop. Macbooks? WTF. They can work OK, but take a bunch of fiddling and setup, and Apple's numerous proprietary components with no drivers or documentation can cause problems. -They don't have Intel WiFi -Retina support is patchy in Linux -You have to mess around with Refind to boot. - You have to keep OS X around for firmware updates etc. They certainly don't offer any support, and its purely on the community to make anything work on a Macbook. Literally any Intel WiFi + Intel GPU laptop will work with fewer hassles than a Macbook.
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Mar 3, 2015 09:30
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Apparently Apple resellers are having a fire sale on Macbook Airs, between $80-180 off (that's 10-20% total purchase price) http://prices.appleinsider.com/ Additionally stock is running low/out on Macbook Airs as of week 3 of February crazy sales posted:Additionally, MacMall now offers 5 different 11- and 13-inch configurations for under $1000 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), while B&H — which only offered 4 models under $1000 on Monday — now offers 7 at that price point (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) , in addition to a 13-inch model that was marked down by as much as $170.00. http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/02/10/apple-gearing-up-for-early-2015-macbook-air-refresh-begins-pruning-inventory It could be they are prepping for a new Macbook Air rollout on March 9, or they could just be burning down stock early ahead of June/July when they do their annual sales event/product rollout. Considering a retina MBA would be the flashiest product update in a long time (for one of their core products, no less) they might wait for June/July. It wouldn't surprise me if they have substantial inventory as the MBA hasn't seen any significant changes in 18+ months. Hadlock fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 11:27
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My current laptop is starting to give out, and I'd like to get a replacement that I won't have to replace for as long as possible. I mostly use it at home and RDP to my desktop downstairs, but I also travel a fair amount so it needs to be decent standalone. I'll be putting Linux on it so anything with questionable linux support is out, and touchscreen is probably out (don't really have any interest in that, anyway). What are the top models I should be looking at?
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Mar 3, 2015 16:28
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Thinkpad question: The Lenovo Outlet is throwing up a whole bunch of budget 440's and 540's. Since the graphic in the OP is said to be out of date, what's the current difference between the T, L and E lines?
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Mar 3, 2015 17:51
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The T's are the ones worth buying the others are budget models. No 1080p T440's show up in the outlet, just 1600x900  Probably no the end of the world though since I personally believe 1080p is too small at 14/15" without zooming a bit or blowing your fonts up.
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Mar 3, 2015 17:52
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Bob Morales posted:No 1080p T440's show up in the outlet, just 1600x900 e: Well there was just a second ago. Now there's a refurbished one with a 256GB SSD and 1080p multitouch IPS for $604.10. butt dickus fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 17:58
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fatherdog posted:My current laptop is starting to give out, and I'd like to get a replacement that I won't have to replace for as long as possible. I mostly use it at home and RDP to my desktop downstairs, but I also travel a fair amount so it needs to be decent standalone. I'll be putting Linux on it so anything with questionable linux support is out, and touchscreen is probably out (don't really have any interest in that, anyway). What are the top models I should be looking at? This post screams Thinkpad. (Or Mac but I guess the Linux support is iffy?)
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Mar 3, 2015 18:46
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If you don't mind waiting a bit for them to finish sorting out the Linux drivers there's also the XPS13, I guess. Because it's the answer to everything these days.
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Mar 3, 2015 18:58
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Aphrodite posted:This post screams Thinkpad. Yeah, I was going to say, we just discussed this exact topic like one page back. T series or XPS 13 are going to be hot choices here, agreed. T440 and most likely T450 is going to be your gold standard laptop in this use case.
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Mar 3, 2015 19:17
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I tend to buy refurbs when going Lenovo, but I don't see a lot of 440s or 450s available. Are there others in the T series I should be looking out for, or avoiding?
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Mar 3, 2015 20:26
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Here's a neat possibility for anyone looking for a Macbook air-alike in windows: HP's Spectre. Review was fairly glowing, though it's notebookcheck. All their reviews are glowing. http://www.notebookreview.com/notebookreview/hp-spectre-x360-review-ghost-chance-apple/
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Mar 3, 2015 20:52
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Cat Army 
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fatherdog posted:I tend to buy refurbs when going Lenovo, but I don't see a lot of 440s or 450s available. Are there others in the T series I should be looking out for, or avoiding? Seriously considering this, although the issue I'm coming across is, do I really need it? I don't move my laptop around too much, so it doesn't need to be NASA rated. This G50-80 is new, not refurbed, has a 15.6" screen, a better Graphics card and more RAM in exchange for a slower hard drive. I'm kind of torn between which one is technically better vs which one is more suited to my needs. Strange Matter fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Mar 3, 2015 |
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Mar 3, 2015 21:03
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Sharks Below posted:I read the OP about the Thinkpads and if you guys think that is the best option for me I'll seriously look into it (my husband has one and he seems to like it) but they're just so ugly! I know that's so vain and shallow but it's how I feeeeel u guysssssssss. And I hate myself for it. I feel like there was an Asus one that had a similar brushed steel casing but I'm not sure what it's like on performance, and I honestly can't find the model now to link it here so that's loving useless anyway. Thinkpads are objectively beautiful. There's a reason that Steve Jobs wanted to hire Richard Sapper but had to settle for Jony Ive since IBM had already scooped up Sapper.
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Mar 3, 2015 23:19
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